Ode to Pennies

I don’t know what came over me (my brain told me it was dirty, but I think I was just being lazy?!), so today I’d like to confess my sins and ask for forgiveness… From both you, and those poor pennies still out there in the lurch…

A little ditty, if you will:

Ode to Pennies

Pennies pennies, I love you
Please forgive me for all I do

A moment of weakness, a night of unease
I wake up this morning, begging on knees!

The foundation of wealth, everyone knows
So why do I leave you there, glimmering so?

You fall from the sky, all alone in the ditch?!
What a horrible person am I – a son of a b*tch!

Never again, I can promise you that
Forever on my heart, like a permanent tat

Fulfilling our dreams, both mighty and small
And yet no trophy, no award – not even a phone call?

I promise to change that – to go back to my ways
Of picking you up, no matter my haze

Sticky or dirty or full of mud crap
I give you my word – I’m done being a sap!

Forever I’ll cherish, those blessings in hand
Please – oh just please – will you forgive this old man?

Whew – that felt good to get off my chest ;)

And speaking of compounding, here’s a chart someone sent me that was floating around Facebook… (Thanks Alex!)

It takes a little more than pennies, but not much if you have *TIME* on your side!

Your friend in finance,

******UPDATE: A keen observer recognized the chart above from David Bach’s “Automatic Millionaire Homeowner” book. Who also adds, “I’ve been using the Billy numbers as a yardstick for years. I didn’t start savings until I was 25, but now I’m 15 years ahead of Billy in savings by age. So suck it, Billy!” ;)

Jay loves talking about money, collecting coins, blasting hip-hop, and hanging out with his three beautiful boys. You can check out all of his online projects at jmoney.biz. Thanks for reading the blog!

Yes, pretty questionable inaction on your part. Hopefully it is not the first step leading to the complete abolishment of the penny here in the US. Can you believe Canada did away with the penny back in 2013! So it must be REALLY good luck in Canada if you happen to find one! Cheers!

Thanks for this! I’m going to share it with my teenage son who we’ve been talking about compound interest with and the difference starting saving for retirement in his teenage years can make. At least he won’t be able to say we never told him/taught him about the possibilities.

I had the same experience last week. I saw a penny when I was walking under the freeway bridge on the way home from the gym. Usually, I’d pick it up, but there were homeless people sleeping there. I figured I’d leave it for them. My son would have picked it up no matter what.

Hey bro. Nice article. I always pick up any change I find on the ground. It does not matter if it is a penny, nickel, dime, or bill. Heck I even pick up foreign coins I find. My three-year-old does not know the difference when I pay her for her chores with those.

The graphic that your reader shared with you is from David Bach’s book “The Automatic Millionaire.” Not only do I have a first edition copy of that book, but it was that chart that really opened my eyes to saving money. It’s a great lesson for our younger generations on the time value of money and compound interest.

Our running group never passes a coin on our early morning runs. And we all give anything we find to the same runner in our group. She is an eagle eye and usually spots them first anyway but our tradition is Norma gets the money no matter who picks it up!

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I, J. Money, only claim the thoughts from my head. I am not a banker, CPA, money manager or anything else of that sort. Please seek a professional for any "real" advice. More info: privacy & disclosure page